Kirk Menendez for City of Coral Gables Commissioner, Group 3 – Kirk Menendez for City of Coral Gables Commissioner, Group 3

Homegrown Leadership

What does it take to be a Homegrown Leader?

It takes being part of the community for all of one’s life

It takes understanding the history of Coral Gables

It takes a commitment to helping our residents and our community

Meet Kirk Menendez

I am a lifelong resident of Coral Gables since 1962 and a graduate of Coral Gables Sr. High School, Class of 1980. I coached at the Coral Gables Youth Center for over 25 years and I have served on the Board of Directors of the Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center Association since 1992. My nearly 40 years of unwavering service to our community is a direct result of the support my mother and I received from the Youth Center family and our Coral Gables community when my father passed away suddenly in 1973.

Through my decades of volunteer service at the Youth Center, Church of the Little Flower, St. Theresa Catholic School and the Knights of Columbus, I have been able to give back to the community that was there for me when I needed community most.

On a professional level, I have extensive experience in Intergovernmental Affairs advocating before local, state and federal government to bring legislative and financial relief to South Florida. I also have significant experience drafting resolutions and ordinances at the local government level as well as serving as a liaison between members of the community, elected officials and government administrations. I bring a clear understanding of how government works, and at times, how government, unfortunately, fails to serve the best interests of the people.

As Commissioner, I will brush politics aside and focus on serving our community as a humble public servant. As Commissioner, our kids will have ample parks to play in, our seniors will never be alone, our residents will have a “seat at the table”, our septic tanks will stop contaminating our aquifers, our residents will not be priced out of City services and our Coral Gables community will overcome the “progress” all around us.

“Before you can lead, you have to learn how serve.”

Kirk’s Platform

WE THE PEOPLE

Time and time again, I have spoken with fellow residents who feel displaced within our very own Community. They often feel left out and forgotten. I will propose the creation of a Residents Panel with representation from each area of the City to meet on a Quarterly basis to discuss issues and help find solutions to concerns impacting each of our neighborhoods. We all share a common love for our community. We each have a story to tell. We must work towards finding solutions that preserve our Community, bring us together and never tear us apart.

SENIORS

As we start to make our way out of this pandemic, we must make certain all of our homebound seniors are able to receive the COVID vaccine as soon as supplies are made available to the City. I will work closely with the Office of the City Manager and our Fire-Rescue Department to implement a door-to-door outreach program to ensure all of our seniors are safe, vaccinated and accounted for. Our seniors, many who grew up and raised their families in our community, are the backbone of our hometown. Their hard work, dedication and selfless service for others has helped give us a community we can all call home. They must not be overlooked and they must never be forgotten. I promise to honor, as I have always done, the foundation they have laid; the very foundation which we all stand upon today.

CHILDREN

My father, Dr. Raymond Menendez, MD, passed away when I was just 10 years old. My mother, Lydia Menendez, worked three jobs and seven days a week just to sustain us. I lived and grew up at the Coral Gables Youth Center. Those coaches, counselors and families back then became an extension of my family. My mother, aka “Abeuela Lydia”, always said the Youth Center is our second home. I was inspired by the pillars of our community like Miss Barbara Bein who was one of UM’s greatest athletes and invited to represent our country in the Summer Olympics in the late 1950’s. However, her athletic career was cut short when her car was struck by a car driven by a drunk driver and she was left a quadriplegic. Instead of allowing this life changing event to end her life, she dedicated the next half century to serving as a counselor at the Youth Center. Miss Barbara, as she was fondly known, was a caring disciplinarying who believed each child was special and that each child had it within them to achieve greatness in life. Today, the Youth Center and special counselors like Art Centurian and Jerry Jones, still provide a caring and loving environment for kids of all ages so that they can experience the wonders of childhood. As the longest serving President of the Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center Association since World War II, I helped create a scholarship program for low-income children at our area schools to attend the Youth Center’s Summer Scholarship Program. As a City Commissioner, I will present legislation requiring that any and all development projects of a certain large scale must contribute funds for ten (10) summer scholarships for Coral Gables children who (1) have active-duty parent(s) and/or (2) come from low-income families. What better way to see our City’s future than through the eyes and lives of children.

ECOLOGY

Our City, like other parts of the County and the State, is facing a looming ecological disaster due to aging septic tanks. These septic tanks, with the ever-increasing sea level rise, are leaking into our aquifers not only polluting the source of our drinking water but spilling contaminants into the waterways flowing under our City Beautiful and out into Biscayne Bay. With my years of experience in Intergovernmental Affairs working to pass legislation and access much needed funds for South Florida from our state and federal governments, I will work with our City Administration to access the funds needed to connect all City properties with septic tanks to our sewer lines. Several residents have reached out to me, these past few days, willing to help pay for their neighborhood switch from septic tanks to the sewer lines. As it stands today, the overall cost on a citywide scale is astronomical. However, if we access other funding sources, like state and federal grants, we can begin the transformation one block at a time, starting with those properties already close to existing sewer lines in order to help keep costs down. If we don’t start, we can’t finish. We must start now.

PARKS

Having coached at the Youth Center and at St. Theresa Catholic School for over 25 years, I know the importance of having ample green space where children, adults and families can come together to enjoy outdoor activities safely in our City Beautiful. As your Commissioner, I will push the City to more aggressively acquire green space throughout the City for future neighborhood parks, including much needed dog parks. For every project the City approves, the City should approve a new neighborhood park.

MOBILITY & OUR DOWNTOWN

I will introduce legislation to significantly expand the trolley and “freebie ride” services throughout the City to encourage and facilitate residents visiting, shopping and dining on Miracle Mile and the City’s Downtown area. We cannot continue to depend mostly on tourists to help sustain our Downtown economy. We need to bring our residents back into the fold. Plus, it will greatly help resolve some of the current parking concerns.

A Homegrown Leader for our City Beautiful

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